Since the 1990s, law enforcement groups like police unions, correctional officers unions, and sheriffs’ associations have had a huge influence on policing and criminal justice legislation, both in Washington and Sacramento. This has led to laws like California’s ‘three strikes’ rule and the 1994 federal crime bill that passed through Congress and was signed by President Clinton.
But law enforcement officials aren’t speaking with one voice anymore. Some district attorneys want to focus on changing the system and focusing on rehabilitation. And now, a new group of progressive-minded district attorneys in California want to counter the ‘tough-on-crime’ voices that have usually held sway.
Guest: Marisa Lagos, correspondent for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast